Molly Olly's Newsletter - Winter 2017/2018

NEWSLETTER

Steve Sidaway’s Big GB Row Challenge Page 3

Out of this world wishes!

Page 4

A tribute to all our fundraisers Pages 5

Olly the Brave loved by staff & children throughout the UK RCPC Conference Page 6

Edition 8 Registered Charity No. 1145312

www.mollyolly.co.uk 1

Welcome to our latest newsletter Thank you for taking the time to read about Molly Olly’s Wishes.

We are a small charity run from an office at home but we have a big reach. We support approximately 250 children with wishes each year.

Our Olly the Brave packs are in over 40 hospitals across the UK and our support with one-off projects helps many others. There is always so much to share about the work that we do and this newsletter gives you a snapshot.

We are proud to announce that our Olly The Brave resources have recently been ‘shortlisted’ and ‘highly commended’ at The British Medical Association Patient Information Awards 2017. Olly Being Brave and Chemotherapy was described as “One of the best resources reviewed.

The story is positive without ignoring the difficulties that children face. The

balance is difficult but the author has managed this very well. Much thought has gone into the design of the toy and in helping children accept their treatment and altered body image. It is very impressive”.

We know Olly and the books make a big difference and it is great to get more official recognition. It is your donations that have enabled this, so thank you for helping us to make those dark days brighter. It is important to us that our donors have the opportunity to understand how their donations are spent and how together we can make a difference. So if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us, visit www.mollyolly.co.uk or find us on Facebook.

Rachel Ollerenshaw

Molly Olly’s 2017 Golf Day Many thanks once again to the wonderful Dean Pugh who always makes this such a wonderful and successful event in our calendar. The sun shone and beers flowed as the teams enjoyed a fantastic day on the Fulford Heath Golf Course. When play was done, the golfers enjoyed an evening of speeches and raffles and plenty of laughs. More importantly, they raised an amazing £25,000 which we will continue to use to make little wishes come true for our very special children.

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Steve Sidaway’s Big GB Row Challenge Every so often, someone takes fundraising to a whole new level - here Steve shares his latest antics with us… a really incredible adventure!

“I’m very fortunate to have been involved in many sports throughout my ‘tender’ 49 years but have probably been happiest when involved in team endurance events. I row on the river at Warwick and this year I was offered the opportunity to be part of a team of four in an Ocean Rowing Boat, which was to circumnavigate Great Britain in eight stages. Our boat, ‘Lionheart’ is just 8m long by 1.6m wide and was our home for the entire journey. Originally I was to row the entire west coast, but a last minute call-up saw me starting a week earlier in Cowes, moving on to to St Ives, up to Dublin, across to Oban and then a final push for Lochinver at the top of Scotland, nearly 1000 miles later. We rowed in pairs, for two hours at a time, whilst the other two crew slept, ate, rehydrated and completed jobs in their two hour ‘rest time’. That routine was observed almost every day, around the clock. We slept at sea in tiny cabins and shared a ‘bucket’!

“I think that I was pretty well prepared for the physical aspects of the challenge, although the blisters on my hands might have suggested otherwise! But what I could not have envisaged were the rewards.

The camaraderie, humour and consideration of all of the crew was second to none. We didn’t know each other before the challenge but we are all very close now. Occupying such a tiny space creates its own

challenge, but with the open ocean and unbelievable seascapes it never felt claustrophobic at all. We had dolphins around the boat every day and sightings of whales and sunfish were pretty special too. We caught and cooked fish, swam ashore, sang songs (badly!) and laughed almost all the time.

“I’ve been asked what the worst bits were, but I really can’t remember any.

There were periods of bad weather, with waves breaking over the boat and intense rowing to the point of exhaustion, but rest and food soon addressed that and the sight of a sunset with dolphins playing in the setting rays takes your mind off aching limbs pretty quickly too. I decided as soon as I was offered the place to do all I could to support Molly Olly’s.

I know Rachel and Tim well and see just how passionate they and the whole team are about achieving the most they can for some very special children. The Wishes they realise are just brilliant and Olly the Brave is such an inspiration too. An ‘Olly’ accompanied us on the boat for the entire journey and despite a few ‘salty soakings’, was none the worse for the ordeal. I experienced so much on the journey and sights and sounds that will be with me for ever. Reflecting on the trip the message I would simply add is to “never turn down the offer of an adventure.”

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Out of this world wishes!

We are constantly amazed by some of the wishes we are asked for, and what is achieved with relatively few funds. It is humbling indeed to work with children who despite the battles they are fighting, still have such imagination and enthusiasm for the world around them. Here are just a few we met recently…

It was such a privilege to help Ollie and his family with this amazing space-makeover, transporting Ollie through Space without having to leave the comfort of his own room…

“Just cannot thank the Molly Olly’s team enough for granting Ollie this wish!”

“Thank you so much for Ruby’s present! It will definitely help keep her entertained during hospital stays!”

“Lovely, lovely Blossom with her new Dolls House...What a smile! x” 4

“Thank you so much, the work you guys do is absolutely amazing and makes such a difference to so many people- both the children who receive the wishes and the families of the children who get to see the gorgeous smiles on the children’s faces when they receive their wishes!“ “Dear Molly Olly and everyone that helps to make this Charity so amazing and special - Here is our Hannah Daisy... she received her very own Ipad from you and the look on her little face was magical... She is so extremely happy and she sends hugs and thank you to all of you that made her so very happy today!”

A tribute to our fundraisers The reality is that none of these wonderful wishes would come true if it weren’t for the fundraising that goes on, quietly and continuously throughout the year. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how much is raised; whether its £1 or £1,000 - it all adds up to a whole lot of happier children in happier families. We are so, so thankful that you continue to support us when there are thousands of incredible causes out there… So, a very, very huge thank you to you all... x Our very own Fairy God Mother Lainey Pugh travelled 400kms around Cambodia and Vietnam, battling 40’ heat and humidity, snakes and saddle soreness to raise £2,500...well done lovely Lainey! x Thank you to Kenilworth Rugby Football Club who raised £ 2,000 on their Molly Olly Day

What’s that coming over the Hill?! Its our brand new shiny Molly Olly Van….Huge thank you to the lovely people at New Horizon Logistics who have kindly branded their new delivery vans in our honour... and very honoured we are too! x

The Birmingham Post Golf Day raising £3,000... thank you all! x

Pippa Jay, a big well done for running the Paris Marathon for us... thank you again x

Thank you to Willie Thorne and Warwick Spice who together raised over £1,000 for us! x

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Olly The Brave, loved by many More importantly than ever, charities such as ours have to ensure that the valuable funds raised are being used in the most efficient way possible.

When we first brought out our ‘Olly the Brave’ packs, we could not have imagined just how loved they would become - not only by the hundreds of children who now have them but also the staff that use them in their line of work. Earlier this year, we conducted a survey to get feedback from the hospitals throughout the UK who use these packs every day. Here is what they tell us…

The Olly pack is a lovely thing to give to a family at such a difficult time. And it really helps the children accept their line. They have been an excellent resource for us.

The families are finding it much easier to explain their child’s illness to siblings and other family members when they have been given an Olly and the book to refer to.

Extremely helpful… I only knew about the different coloured manes after contacting Molly Olly’s last week. I didn’t know that it was to symbolise hair growing back different . This is incredible.

We advise parents to read the book first, then share with their child. All very grateful.

We have given them to all the children in our case load who have Hickman lines and would like one - we have pre-schoolers up to a 13 yr old who absolutely love them.

Our families have been so grateful, thank you. It is lovely to take something 6

out on visits that is just for them and not another nursing task, opens up conversations.

All of our patients love Olly and it definitely helps with line preparation with new patients and patients who are struggling to cope with line access. Olly helps with hair-loss too.

Royal College of Paediatricians Conference We had a very busy few days catching up with some old friends and making new contacts at the recent conference for paediatricians, in Birmingham.

We had some great feedback and insight into how our Olly the Brave packs are being used.

We are always looking for new opportunities to help clinicians and those they treat.

Events We have had some great events over the past few months. Here’s a snap-shot of what we’ve been up to...

The Annual Molly Olly Ball - a truly enchanting night

Our 7th Molly Olly’s Wishes fundraising ball sponsored by SCC welcomed 400 guests into an autumnal enchanted forest at Ragley Hall. Our beautifully turnedout guests were welcomed by a living carpet and tables laden with fizz. Dinner was announced by the very polished MC, JD from Free Radio and the evening progressed through a fairy jasmine arch into the woods to an amazing opulent dining room where a three course meal was enjoyed curtesy of Four Leaf Clover.

Our auction this year was conducted by the wonderful Frank Carter with lots ranging from pub crawls generously donated by Lovely Pubs, to weekends away and days out at the races.

But the highlight of the evening for many that had yet to experience such a thing, was a silent disco! Guests were able to dance into the early hours without a care!

The evening raised over £45,000 to help us continue to support the children and families that are so important to us, and to continue the work of Olly the Brave and the phenomenal impact he has in over 40 hospitals nationwide.

We are always left in awe of just how generous people are, and the crowd that descended on Ragley Hall excelled themselves beyond all expectation.

To all that were there, all who helped, all who donated prizes and auction lots, a massive thank you to you all. You have enabled us to help more children and make those dark days brighter.

TwitterArt 2017

We would like to say a huge thank you to all who helped organise this event in April this year. We had artists contribute original pieces of art. A truly heartfelt thank you indeed to Cathy Smith who painstakingly categorised and helped us hang all the artwork and gave us her valuable artists eye and know how….

Cathy you are a Star! We raised an impressive £16,000 to date and we still have a few stunning pieces for sale on our website at www.mollyolly.co.uk 7

Our Mission Molly Olly’s Wishes supports children with life limiting or terminal illness and their families in the U.K. The money raised will fund our wishes programme and the continued donations of ‘Olly The Brave’ packs to individuals and hospitals.

Corporate Support - please join us We have been very fortunate to have some fantastically loyal corporate donors this year and are very keen to reach out to more of you… so, if you would like to find out more about how you could help, please get in touch and we can help you help us.

Here are some of the organisations that are supporting us this year...

Moore & Tibbits, Rotary Club, Great British Food Festival, Take Flight Aviation, Quattro Recruitment, Barclays Corporate Banking, Allen Creative, Irwin Mitchell, Karen Massey Photography, New Horizon Logistics, REPL, Thomson Airways, Touch FM, Virgin Media, West Mercia Fork Lift Trucks, Lovely Pubs, Thomas Sanderson, TwitterArt, Audley Binswood, Spark Media, Thomas Cook Children’s Charity, Hays Travel, Leamington Business Forum, SCC, Wellesbourne Brownies, Viva Theatre Arts, Fews Marquees, Burbidges, Mercedes Stratford Upon Avon, Langham Walsh Chartered Accountants, Ox Grills, Complete Cricket, The Sheraton Hotel Blackpool.

Contact If you would like more information on Molly Olly’s Wishes please contact us in one of these ways: Write to:

Rachel Ollerenshaw, Trustee, 1 Blackwell Lane, Hatton Park, Nr Warwick CV35 7SU

Tel:

Rachel on 07747 854 914

Web:

www.mollyolly.co.uk

Email:

rachel@mollyolly.co.uk

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/MollyOllys

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MollyOllys Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/mollyollyswishes 8

Registered Charity No. 1145312